


Goblin King

by aleatoryEpiphany



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-12
Updated: 2017-09-23
Packaged: 2018-12-14 11:03:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11781831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aleatoryEpiphany/pseuds/aleatoryEpiphany
Summary: What if the Goblin King were to be different in any country with a different perception of what "goblins" are? In Japan, "goblins" are "yokai". When a six-year old Kagome wishes her baby brother away, the consequences of making up for her mistake change the entire course of her life. Eventual Sess/Kag, AU, Updated Saturdays.





	1. Chapter 1

Kagome closed her eyes and plugged up her ears to block out the screaming of her new baby brother, who seemed just as infuriated with the state of the world as it was as Kagome was. He had _no right_ to be so upset though! Her baby brother had everything he could want! He’d never even known Daddy to miss him! Not like Kagome had…

_Daddy… Why did you have to go die?_

Tears coursed unheeded down her cheeks and she sobbed in distress, rocking back and forth as the feelings of hunger and discomfort from her brother leaked into her from his graceless projection. She moved into another room, but it _wouldn’t stop_ and suddenly Kagome had just had _enough_! Grandpa was sleeping and Mama was going to be gone for hours and she was all alone with a screaming baby brother and wasn’t allowed to scream herself at how unfair the world was! She remembered that movie she saw last year at Chika’s house and harshly whispered, even though she knew it wouldn’t work – she just wanted to be able to say she had done _something_ – “I wish the Goblin King would take you away, _right now!_ ”

The screaming stopped. Oh. Oh no. It was _just_ like the movie! She didn’t think it was real but it was oh no what had she done?!

“No! Sōta!”

She ran into the other room and saw – well he looked different, but that probably shouldn’t be a surprise. However, there was clearly a _yōkai_ there holding her baby brother, who had long strands of silver tangled in his fingers and stuck into his mouth, staring with wide brown eyes at the intruder – wait, was he an intruder if she had called him here? Probably not.

Kagome bit her lip and looked down at the ground before taking another peek at the yōkai holding her baby brother. Pale skin, crimson stripes on his cheeks and wrists, a lavender crescent moon adorning his forehead, beautiful golden eyes with crimson accents, pointed ears, long silver hair that went down past his hips… And his clothes! He was wearing an elegant outfit that was certainly older than anything _she’d_ ever seen before. A kimono that was pristine white with crimson flower petals and hexagons on it, bright blood red staining the trailing edges of the sleeves. His hakama were the poofy kind – um, what did Grandpa call them? Sha- Sa- Sashi… Sa-shi-nu-ki! Sashinuki hakama! And they were just as white as the kimono was, but his boots were black. And he had a _crazy_ obi in purple and yellow.

If a yōkai was the Goblin King (which made perfect sense to her; after all, goblins in Nihongo were _yōkai_ , although they looked a lot different to other kinds of goblins) did that mean that yōkai were goblins instead of what western people thought were goblins? Or... Maybe… “Are you yōkai because we are in Nihon, yōkai-sama?”

The Goblin King blinked and looked at her, one elegant silver eyebrow raised slightly. “Correct. How intriguing. Are you not frightened?”

The raven haired child with cerulean blue eyes shook her head solemnly and answered honestly. “I’m not scared, I’m just sad, yōkai-sama. I didn’t think you were real or I wouldn’t have asked for Sōta to be taken away. Even though he was hurting me and I miss my daddy that doesn’t make it right for me to make him lose Mama because I was selfish and stupid.”

The yōkai blinked again and tilted his head, “How old are you, ningen?”

She rocked back on her heels before settling down once more, “Six and a half. My daddy died last month right before Sōta was born. I guess there’s nothing that I could to to keep Sōta here… is there?”

Kagome said the last hopefully, knowing that if he chose to, she couldn’t keep him from taking Sōta, but also remembering that at least _one_ Goblin King wouldn’t have actually turned the child into a goblin and would have made sure he was taken care of and raised well. Well. At least. The actor would have done. Thinking about it, she felt what the actors projected, not what the characters themselves would necessarily do. The yōkai disabused her of any notion of wrongness however, when he said, “Can you promise that this child will be raised well, protected, and taught to be intelligent until such a time as you are old enough to Run for him?”

That made her bite her lip and big blue eyes widened as she felt the slight sense of amusement coming from the yōkai, but also the compassion, seriousness, and – oh. He was _lonely_. _Very_ lonely. Kagome took a breath in, and said, “Well. Do you think that _I’ve_ been raised well? If you do, then I will do my best to help out so that Sōta is taken care of. And maybe.. Um. Maybe you could.. check in on him? To be sure I’m not messing up!” she clarified, not wanting the yōkai to know that she wanted him to be less lonely because she could tell that as honourable as he was, he was also _proud_ and even though it _wasn’t_ pity, he would assume it was and reject her wanting to help.

Somehow she didn’t think she was really fooling him, but thankfully he seemed amused more than anything else. Maybe it was because she was still little? “Hn. Your name?”

Oh! How rude of her! “I’m sorry! My name is Higurashi Kagome. That is Higurashi Sōta. Mama is Higurashi Naoko. Daddy was Higurashi Isamu. Grandpa is Higurashi Daisuke. Might I know your name, yōkai-sama?”

He raised an eyebrow at her again and made a soft noise of acknowledgement before answering. “Hn. Taishō Sesshōmaru. Former Lord of the West, son of the Inu no Taishō, Taishō Toga.”

Kagome felt her eyes growing wide and she gasped, “Wow! The Goblin King is _Sesshōmaru_ - _sama_? Wow!”

That seemed to give him pause, and he asked, “You know of this Sesshōmaru?”

Kagome nodded enthusiastically, “Grandpa runs Higurashi Shrine and is teaching me history and how to use my pink ki. Well, at least,” she added wryly, “He’s _trying_ to do the last. It’s not working very well. I’m doing better figuring it out on my own than Grandpa is at trying to make me use it how he uses his reiryoku. It just won’t work that way. Anyway! You’re in history, as is your father. You’re famous, Sesshōmaru-sama.”

“Make sure that your brother learns the history of yōkai as well, can you promise me that, Kagome?”

She nodded again and then smiled brightly, holding her hand out. “How old will I be when I run for Sōta?”

He shook her hand with the clawed hand not holding Sōta, and then transferred her baby brother into her arms, “Sixteen.”

Kagome held her baby brother tightly to her before bowing low to Sesshōmaru-sama. “Thank you for giving me a chance.”

Then he left, with Kagome having no knowledge that normally, chances were not given – the encounter was simply erased from the minds of young children and forgotten unless there were repeated attempts, in which case the child wished away was taken permanently. But Sesshōmaru was intrigued by this young miko and decided to see not only how the boy would grow up, but how the girl would grow up.

_Intriguing, indeed. What a delightfully unusual child that onna is._

Sesshōmaru smirked; he somehow doubted that the Labyrinth would be Run when the girl came of age.


	2. Chapter 2

Kagome bit her lip and held onto her little brother tightly, his tiny feet placed on her own feet as she held one of his hands with her right hand and his waist with her left hand. Then she began walking backwards, keeping an eye both on her baby brother and on the space behind her. He giggled gleefully as she began walking, and she smiled softly. It had almost been a year since she met Sesshōmaru-sama, and Sōta was growing very well. Her mama, though…

Well. Kagome was holding back judgement. Mama was under a lot of stress. As it was, Kagome had just naturally begun taking care of Sōta more as often as she could after school and on the weekends, making sure to bring him to her lessons with Grandpa and teaching him things like colours and animals – he couldn’t talk cohesively yet but he definitely _understood_ things and was a very intelligent boy. The only problem he had was that his legs were a little weak because Mama had left him in the cradle too often when he was a littler baby, so he was struggling with learning to walk, although he was finally, as of last month, crawling well.

The seven and a half year old girl kissed her one year old brother’s forehead as she stopped walking, then picked him up and took him over to his learning-chair. Kagome had seen it and begged and begged for Mama to get it for Sōta, even if it had meant not getting a present for her birthday. It was a chair with all sorts of little games and toys that helped with hand eye coordination and walking and learning colours and other things like that. Kagome could only do so much herself, after all, and Mama... Well Mama was trying.

Smiling, Kagome decided that it was time. She let her ki into her hands like she had taught herself to do, and chanted under her breath, “I wish the Goblin King would come and visit, as soon as he can!”

Now she just had to wait. It wouldn’t be the first time he had visited her; but the last time he had visited had really only been to make sure she knew how to contact him in such a way that he knew it was her calling for him and would come. He hadn’t really been checking on Sōta – and thank goodness for that. Sōta still hadn’t been able to crawl by then, and even though it wasn’t purposeful abuse or hurting him or anything like that, she still didn’t think that Sesshōmaru-sama would care much for that.

“Hello, Kagome. Hello, Sōta.”

Kagome smiled brightly and turned around, bowing respectfully towards Sesshōmaru-sama, giggling as Sōta squealed gleefully, waving his arms around in the air in a blatant demand to be picked up. She picked him up, then held him out to Sesshōmaru-sama. “Sōta?” She asked.

He turned his head towards her and blinked soft brown eyes. “’Gome?”

She smiled – Sōta couldn’t talk in sentences or anything yet, but he was learning more and more words. She was worried that despite his blatant intelligence, his development was slow, but in the end decided that it probably wasn’t too bad. She wouldn’t know for sure, never having been around other babies. “This is Sesshōmaru-sama. He is watching over you. Please don’t get upset when I give you to him for him to hold you, okay, otōto-kun?”

He wrinkled his nose and looked like he was about to protest, but then huffed and said, “Kay, ‘Gome.”

The black haired girl smiled again and kissed his forehead, then offered him to Sesshōmaru-sama again. “Sorry, but I had to make sure, Sōta doesn’t like being held by very many people.”

He threw a fit whenever Mama tried to hold him for more than a few minutes any more, and Grandpa had _never_ been able to hold the boy without him throwing a royal fuss. Sesshōmaru-sama raised an eyebrow before accepting the boy, holding him with an ease that spoke of caring for many, many children. “Would that be discernment or being spoiled, I wonder?”

Kagome blinked in confusion, “Wouldn’t _wanting_ to be held be being spoiled rather than wanting to move around himself?”

“That depends,” he commented absently as clawed fingertips ran through the soft black wisps of hair crowning Sōta’s head, crimson yōki exploring the area and making Sōta giggle in delight, “on the circumstances. I would think he prefers to be held, simply only by certain people.”

Kagome shrugged softly, “Maybe. I wouldn’t know. He never ever let Grandpa hold him and doesn’t hardly let Mama hold him any more either. I encourage him to crawl and sit and stuff on his own and he never puts up a fuss at that, although he does let me hold him better than anybody else.”

Sesshōmaru-sama nodded absently and Kagome rocked back on her heels for a moment before making herself stand still. She assumed that Sesshōmaru-sama was checking his development and other things like that, so she wasn’t really worried about the yōki affecting her little brother in any bad way. Sesshōmaru-sama clearly wanted the best for him. “Hn. His legs are a bit weak but you are working on fixing that very nicely, little Kagome. Keep it up and he will soon be walking on his own. Sōta is very intelligent, and you are doing well at nurturing his ability to learn and grow. His ability for speech is quite advanced, despite the limitations with it. Good job at keeping your promise for an entire year.”

The comment made the young miko beam happily and suddenly everything she was going through was _so worth it_. Sesshōmaru-sama was _proud_ of her and she was doing things right! It was such a relief to know she wasn’t messing up, and to be appreciated in more than an absentminded fashion. Then he held her brother back out to her and she cradled the little boy close before kissing his forehead and placing him back in his learning-chair. “Is there anything specific you want me to do, Sesshōmaru-sama?”

“Keep up with learning about the Kami and yōkai, both of you. It is good, useful information to have, although you should quietly keep in mind that even Kami change and most of those tales are hundreds of years old. Susanoo-no-Mikoto-sama for instance is nothing like as evil as he is often portrayed in the tales.”

Kagome nodded, “Understood. If anything seems wrong I’ll just ask you about it!”

Sesshōmaru-sama flashed her a small smile and nodded, patting her head fondly before departing, “Goodbye, Kagome. Keep up the good work.”

She smiled and watched where he had been standing for a while longer before going back to her little brother and picking him up to give him walking practise again. She wasn’t about to let the Goblin King down!


	3. Chapter 3

Sōta was sitting on an eight year old Kagome's lap as she held the book of animals in front of him, covering the picture on the right page with one hand as she pointed to the word beneath it with her other hand. “What’s this word, otōto-kun?”

“Um...”

A slightly chubby finger ran over the word, pausing at each letter. She had begun teaching him how to read six months ago, even though her mama had told her he was too young – she had to keep up his education somehow, and he practically already knew all the words she did, even if he couldn’t _say_ them all because he was still just a toddler. So she’d bought picture books, then books with pictures and simple words, digging out her own books from when she was in preschool as well to help. “Goat!”

The picture was covered up – and she was going through the book in a random order so that he couldn’t use his knowledge of the book itself to guess the words without actually reading – so she clapped her hands and hugged her little brother close. “Good job, Sōta! Okay, let’s see, what’s next… More animals, or shapes and colours?”

He stuck his fingers into his mouth and sucked on them for a second before Kagome absently pulled them out and looked through the books beside her, “No, Sōta. You know better. If you need to chew or suck on something that’s what the pacifier and teething ring are for.”

Mama wasn’t any help in that department, as she didn’t always know where everything was kept and sometimes just wanted him to be quiet enough that she actively undid all the hard work Kagome was going through in breaking her baby brother of his bad habits. Kagome would be more upset, but… It was hard raising two children mostly by yourself. Grandpa could only help out so much after all. So she just dealt with it and picked up the slack.

Kagome had no real idea how mature she was for an eight and a half year old, instead just wanting to make sure she did everything in a satisfactory manner, still determined to make sure that Sesshōmaru-sama found nothing to complain about with how she was raising Sōta, although admittedly, unlike the time until just over halfway into her first year, this year it was more out of a true love for her baby brother than out of fear of being a bad girl. It didn’t matter to her that she was different than the other girls her age, it didn’t matter that she knew all sorts of things none of them would probably ever know, that she watched documentaries instead of anime, that she read nature books and educational books rather than manga. It didn’t matter that instead of playing tennis or volleyball, she practised archery and how to wield a staff – Grandpa was teaching her how to use a shakujō at her request so that when she was older she could teach Sōta how to wield one. Grandpa would be too old to do it in even just a few more years, after all, although he said that if Mama could afford it, he would ask a friend from another temple to come by and keep up her teaching.

Kagome frankly was not holding out much hope for that. Mama spent any money that didn’t have to go towards keeping Kagome and Sōta fed and clothed and clean on alcohol and clubs. She only worked for a few hours each night, and pulled a check from Daddy’s time in the military, so she didn’t even have to do that, but at least she had the ability to feel bad about spending someone else’s money on drinking. Kagome pulled her mind away from that and closed her eyes. _Don’t think like that, Kagome. Mama is trying. It’s just hard on her._

“Colours, ‘Gome!”

Sōta brought her out of her thoughts and she smiled, nodding and grabbing the book of shapes and colours. Then she turned to a random page and covered the picture up before he could catch it, and pointed to the word below it. This one was purple. “Um.. P...Pur… Purple!”

Sōta clearly guessed after the “pur” part, but that wasn’t a big issue, he was still recognising it without seeing the colour itself.

Sighing, she smiled and then gasped. “Oh! Today’s that day again! Sōta, I have to call Sesshōmaru-sama. He has to make sure you are okay.”

Sōta tilted his head and blinked slowly. “Sess-sama? With silver hair?”

She nodded, “Exactly! He’s watching over you and making sure that you grow up to be strong and smart and healthy.”

Her little brother nodded and thankfully didn’t ask _why_ exactly this was happening. Her hands began to glow and she softly chanted, “I wish the Goblin King would come visit as soon as possible!”

“Hello, Kagome. Hello Sōta. How are you doing today?”

Kagome smiled brightly at the daiyōkai and said, “Very good, Sesshōmaru-sama! I was just having a reading lesson with Sōta.”

He raised an eyebrow at that and looked at the books, with a small quirk of his lips. “Very nice. Well, Sōta, can you walk here?”

Her little brother nodded and said, “Okay Sess-sama!”

Then he toddled his way over to the daiyōkai, who bent down and looked him over carefully, before combing his fingers through Sōta’s hair again. Sōta giggled at the feel of the yōki examining him, before asking, “Sess-sama! Why you watch over Sōta and ‘Gome?”

Oh, _no_! He _would_ ask that _now_! Thankfully, Sesshōmaru gave her a wry smile and simply stated, “Because your big sister loves you very, very much, and I wanted her to be able to help you grow up happy. Is that happening, Sōta?”

Sōta nodded his head fervently and stated firmly, “Sōta loves ‘Gome! ‘Gome makes Sōta very happy and smart!”

Kagome smiled softly at that pronunciation of happiness and hugged her little brother once Sesshōmaru-sama was done examining him. “Very good. Keep doing a wonderful job, little Kagome. I will see you in a year.”

With that he was gone, and Kagome sighed, relieved that she was still doing things right. She didn’t know what she would ever do if she had to live without her baby brother.


	4. Chapter 4

Everything went to hell when Kagome turned fifteen. Actually, when she was fourteen, but until her mama had gotten married to Kenji-san, she had thought things would be okay, if not far better. He doted on her, and was good with Sōta, _and_ her mama was happier and more stable when he was around. She was certainly a better mother to Sōta, although Kagome had long since stopped allowing the woman to try to mother her; sick and tired of her hypocrisy and escapism. Sōta was heading that way as well, to the point that in private – no matter _how_ many times she told him not to – he called Kagome “Mama” instead of “ane-chan” at least half the time. It was flattering, and kind of true, but not biologically so, and Mama would be hurt if she ever heard that.

Tears flowing down her face, she stared at the man who had invaded her bedroom, begun touching her, and been summarily knocked out by her spiritual protections – thank goodness that her ki was not reiryoku or anything as insubstantial as that! Then she closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and ran from her bedroom to Sōta’s bedroom, shaking him awake. He woke up easily, took one look at her, and then pulled her onto the bed. “Mama? What’s wrong, why are you crying?”

She couldn’t be bothered to correct him – it didn’t matter with what she was about to do. “Kenji came into my room and touched me in a bad way, Sōta. We are _leaving_. I’m calling Sesshōmaru-sama to come take us away, okay?”

He stared at her solemnly, before saying, “The Goblin King will be taking us both away then, instead of just me?”

He’d figured out when he was six what really happened, and instead of resenting her for it, that incident had been what got him started in calling her “Mama”. Kagome nodded, “That’s right, assuming he’ll take us both. You ready?”

Sōta grabbed his shakujō from the corner of his room, which she had started him on learning when he was seven, just like how she had begun learning it. He was halfway to nine now, and she was very proud of his progress. Kagome would have grabbed her own bow and arrows but she had no doubt that Sesshōmaru-sama would provide what she needed, not to mention she knew how to make her own, so it wasn’t a big deal. “Ready. Let’s go home, Mama.”

“I wish the Goblin King would take us away, _right now_!”

\- - -

Sesshōmaru watched his little experiment shoot her bow, accurately shooting her arrows – both physical and pure ki – after school, proud of her progress. Kagome had become a graceful, powerful miko, who was kind, stubborn, determined, beyond intelligent, incredibly strong, and a wonderful teacher and role model. He was most pleased with what his intervention in her life had turned her into, compared to what he saw when he looked in on the rather clumsy and fairly clueless version of the teenager in other universes. Especially when the boy who would become his heir (assuming he was willing to have his species changed, which he doubted would be an issue) stood up next and followed her performance with a reasonably well one of his own. He was better with his shakujō than bow and arrows, but his sister had made sure he could protect himself both more close range and more long range.

Sighing, he went back to observing the latest Runner, a spoiled brat of an older brother who was only running the Labyrinth in order to not feel guilty over losing his younger brother. For that transgression, the Labyrinth would _never_ let him win – it never “let” anybody win, really, but most people kept their memories and were integrated back into their lives if it was possible, or if it was impossible, into various human villages in the Goblin Kingdom and given help in raising the wished-away child. People like this fool here, however, would be transported back to the Ningen Kingdom without their memories and with no memory of the missing child even ever existing. It was perhaps cruel, but usually it was the parents’ fault for a child turning out any particular way, whether that be good or bad.

Three hours later the Runner was sent home and a call stopped him in his tracks. That was _Kagome_! Why on earth was she wishing herself away?! Correction, herself _and_ her brother. Well; she sounded incredibly desperate, and Sesshōmaru was far too fond of the miko to ever ignore a cry for help of any kind, which this clearly was. He twisted his wrist and a crystal appeared in his hand; he slammed it into the ground by his feet and waited as it transported him to where Kagome was, frowning worriedly at the dark room she was in. “Kagome? What happened?”

She had tear-tracks on her face and was clutching her brother tightly. She opened her mouth, but then Sōta spoke up. “Kenji-san touched Mama. Can you hurt him please, Sesshōmaru-sama?”

Sesshōmaru growled ferally and restrained his natural killing instinct. Oh how he wished he _could_. Crimson invaded his eyes until he firmly controlled the transformation back and took in a deep breath before speaking. “Unfortunately, I have no power over him. We are leaving _right now_ , however. You have rooms ready in the castle already, so you need not worry about finding a place to live or anything like that. Come; take my hands.”

Kagome wordlessly clutched at his hand with one of her own, and he laced their fingers together, squeezing comfortingly as Sōta gripped his other hand in a death grip and muttered – in such a way that only Sesshōmaru himself would be able to hear, “Finally, it’s about time we ran away from this place and she became my Mama for real.”

That made him suppress a smile before he did a wordless transportation spell – to leave the realm he had to use a crystal, but to go back he only needed his will, thankfully. They appeared in the middle of the pristine castle, and he ushered them towards the end of the hall, where there were two rooms across from each other. “Sōta’s is on the left, Kagome’s is on the right. My room is at the end of the hall on the other side. If you ever need anything just knock, I will hear it even if I am in another part of the castle. Tomorrow we will talk about what will happen next, but for now, you should rest.”

After a glance towards Sōta, who nodded firmly when he tilted his head towards Kagome, he wrapped the ningen woman up and held her close, growling gently. “You are _safe_ here, Kagome. Nothing can harm you. Now, sleep.”

Kagome’s cerulean eyes were dull with shock and confusion, so he steered her towards her door and allowed Sōta to lead her into the room, heading back to his own – mostly unused, as he only needed to sleep approximately six hours per week – room and destroying an unfortunate pair of curtains at the thought of what happened to Kagome. If that ningen was ever in his grasp, he was a _dead man_.


	5. Chapter 5

When Kagome woke up the next morning, the dim light streaming into her window immediately convinced her that no, this was _not_ a dream, and yes, she _had_ wished herself and her brother away to Sesshōmaru-sama’s realm. Honestly, it was probably about damn time. She’d been grown enough to take care of Sōta completely on her own since she was twelve – he’d even begun calling her “Mama” at that time – and been mature enough to take care of the both of them and hold down a job with ease basically as soon as she hit fourteen. She’d officially begun working for Grandpa as a Shrine Maiden at that age: taking care of the shrine; helping make and sell various charms, sutra, and ofuda; dealing in herbal remedies; and other odd things here and there. She had even managed to do it without neglecting her precious little brother – or should she call him her son now that they were officially gone from their old home with no biological mother in sight?

She would have to ask Sesshōmaru-sama about the logistics of that – as well as what on earth kind of job she would have; as much as she _could_ do the miko thing (and well) she didn’t really want to do just that her whole life. She wanted something… _interesting_ to do.

A knock shattered her thoughts and she opened the door to Sōta jumping into her arms. “How does it feel to finally be home for good, Mama?”

Oh, precious boy…

“Really, Sōta? You’re truly happy with this outcome?”

He smiled brilliantly at her and tightened his arms around her shoulders. “You’re my mama. And I love you. You raised me, and taught me, and loved me, and took care of me all this time. But as long as we still lived _aboveground_ then I had to call you ane-chan, I had to pretend to love the person who was never around, and I had to sneak around to talk to Sesshōmaru-sama for help with your birthday presents. Well and other things, but that was the very _first_ reason I called him up. He’s been watching over you, you know. He trusted you would take care of me, and didn’t check in on me unless I called for him, but he was always, always watching over you to make sure you were okay. We owe Sesshōmaru-sama a whole lot, Mama.”

She smiled softly at her son (damn biology, he was right – Sōta was her _son_ , not her brother; what mattered was the bit between birth and death and she had sure as hell been the one who raised him) and stroked through his hair, carrying him with her to sit on her bed comfortably. Thankfully, they didn’t seem to be expected to go anywhere for breakfast, as she had a large bowl of fruit on the vanity in her room, as well as a plate with some bread, boiled eggs, and cheese, the bread still warm which pointed to magic being used to keep it fresh. “We do. And I’m going to try and see about working off that debt because we owe him our entire lives, including how smart and grown up we are, because if it wasn’t for me being scared of losing you, I never would have put in as much effort into anything as I did.”

Sōta nodded and grabbed a piece of fruit, peeling it adeptly and biting into it. Kagome followed suit by grabbing a fruit, but then differed by emptying the bowl, going to her bathroom, and filling it up with water. Then she split the pomegranate in her hands in half and began shelling the seeds out carefully into the water, a trick she had learned several years ago. When she finished she would have a nice little pile of pomegranate seeds in the bowl, all of them pleasantly cool from the water as well as clean and ready to eat. “Sōta could you grab me some bread and cheese to eat while I seed the pomegranate?”

He complied easily, and even fed her while she worked; they both _adored_ pomegranates, so this was definitely a plus in Sesshōmaru-sama’s “earning gratitude” column. Not that either of them really needed to have any more for him considering how they both considered the daiyōkai solely responsible for their lives turning out as blessed as they did. When they were finished with their breakfast, she put the peels and other various leftovers on the plate, replaced the rest of the fruit in the bowl, and sighed. “I guess we should go see Sesshōmaru. I know he definitely already knows the place he wants you to have here – that’s been clear ever since you were four – so I just have to find out what I will be doing, or can do if there are more options than one.”

Sōta jumped down from her canopy four poster bed and hugged her tightly. “Come on! I’ll have to start taking lessons from now on. And I wanna know what Sesshōmaru-sama has planned for you to do because surely he knows what you would like to be doing!”

Kagome smiled and her cerulean eyes were bright and shining as she opened the door and they headed to the other end of the hall. She knocked politely on the door, and was totally unsurprised when it opened up to a study instead of a bedroom. “Magic doors then? That’s pretty neat.”

Sesshōmaru-sama gave her a small smirk, tilting his head, “Your doors function similarly, just open or create a door near where you are and you can answer a call. In answer to your question, Kagome, yes; you have magic now. Or rather, the ability to use your ki in so many ways that it might as well be magic. Sōta, having more exposure, has true magic, although if he decided to become my heir that will become yōki as well.”

The raven haired miko inhaled sharply and looked over at her brother; his doe brown eyes solemn as he nodded at her. He wanted that then. “Oh... Um. When will that be happening?”

The daiyōkai who had decided her little brother would make a good heir – probably _solely_ because of her own and his own intervention, damn it all – said softly “Whenever he chooses. If he chooses _now_ , then he will age as a yōkai does into adulthood; fifteen years to age one physical year and five years for each mental year. If he chooses to wait until he turns fourteen or fifteen then he will age regularly up until that point. Either decision is his to make and yours to agree to; this Sesshōmaru can only influence by stating his wishes, not by swaying either of you. Because stating his own desires _would_ sway the two of you, then he shall not.”

Er… wow. That was a long speech. And third person? Well she’d heard him like that before but never for so long. Kagome looked at Sōta, who softly said, “I don’t want to decide today, Mama. I have time to make a choice. Either way, I’ll only choose what lets me stay with you the longest.”

He looked at Sesshōmaru-sama at that, who stated, “Kagome cannot die any more, as that which gives her her ki has merged with her body and her soul during the night. She is now as immortal as I am.”

Sesshōmaru-sama sounded moderately surprised by that, and she gave him a swift glance, flushing as she saw the intense stare focused on her. “Okay. Um. Wow. Right. So, uh.. What now? What do you want for me to do, I mean?”

Oh. Kagome was going to _enjoy_ this. That smirk on his face promised  fun for Kagome. “Well… there is an untended shrine in the Labyrinth… For the most part, it is untended because those who have the temperament and training to run the shrine do _not_ have the kind of temperament to aid the Labyrinth in confusing and confounding the Runners so they learn their lessons. However…”

Kagome giggled mischievously. “Oh yes! I would _love_ to help people either learn a good lesson or get punished for wishing their siblings or children or cousins or whomever away. Especially if that means I get to tend a shrine as well, which is something I know I am good at and have the training to do! When do I start?”

“Whenever you want, Kagome; oh and, by the way, we have known each other long enough that the suffix should be dropped. It has grown highly tiring coming from the two of you by now.”

That made Kagome and Sōta both laugh softly, and Kagome hugged him and kissed his forehead, whispering, “I will love you forever, whatever you decide, musuko mine.”

He beamed at her and she ruffled his black hair slightly, stating, “Well, if you’ll have someone show me where it is, I’ll get the shrine ready for use! Also could you arrange for a tutor so I can learn how to manipulate my ki in ways I might not think of?”

Sesshōmaru (no -sama now, whoa!) nodded and a servant waked in, making her smile and leave the room to ready her new place of work for her new – outstandingly awesome! – job.


	6. Chapter 6

“Well hello there!” Kagome smiled brightly at the grumpy looking and sullen young man who was staring at her as she wrote a sutra for her shrine. She didn’t technically need them, but she still kept them up to date and they helped make her job more successful when she placed ofuda for protection from angry people and sutra for belief in the place she spent a majority of her time. “Just give me a second and then if you will tell me how I can help you, I will do my best.”

The young man sat down across from her, still staring, but Kagome ignored him in order to finish her sutra. Then she used her ki to dry it fully and stood up, placing it just outside the door in her shrine that – to her and a select few others – led straight to her bedroom in the castle. Once that was done she stepped back outside and gave off her most innocent and sweet smile to the boy. The Labyrinth was in as sullen a mood as this boy was; meaning that she was to properly trick him because he was only Running in order to try to escape punishment for being so selfish, not because he actually wanted whoever he wished away back. Just earlier today she had dealt with a young mother who was the opposite and had – after getting her a _little_ bit lost – helped lead her to where she needed to be. Kagome adored her job, it was versatile and easy to determine which way she should take things – not to mention the Labyrinth was a stunningly gorgeous and highly malleable place and she loved exploring it. She was called “the Lady of the Labyrinth” by the other residents of the Underground, which was really a flattering thing to be called, in all honesty.

She also got lots of more mundane visitors as the Labyrinth was home to many creatures and a travel destination or stop for many more beings and creatures. She had a good business selling various things to those people that regularly braved the extremely mutable labyrinth, including those who lived there, like Inuyasha, the entrance guardian, or the Hag who ran the Dump. “So,” she asked the boy. “How may I help you?”

“That should be _obvious_. I want to finish this stupid _maze_ and get home. God you’re stupid.”

Wow. Rude much? She smiled sweetly with acid tingeing her smile – this was the sweetness of floral venom, not a genuine sweetness; deceptive and dangerous. “Actually, many people come to me for aid in needing herbal tisanes, poultices, teas, soups, and other remedies, as well as for sutra and ofuda and charms for various things. So, that is a completely reasonable question. If you are injured I can cleanse the wound and bandage it up with herbs to prevent infections. If you just need led somewhere I can do that as well.”

To be fair to the teen, he did feel chastised at that, but her empathy was still telling him he was more resentful and sullen over this whole thing and genuinely wished that his – ah his baby cousin – would just disappear. Ugh! Hmph, this boy was going into the Bog for that!

“Well.. I was told that _someone_ around here could lead me out of the hedge maze. I guess that’d be you? Also I’m sorry for being so rude, I’m just frustrated and want to be done.”

_Oh you’ll be done soon. I’m sending you to the BoES for this!_ The great thing about the Bog of Eternal Stench was that the smell was more psychological than physical after the person dumped into it escaped the Underground. Basically it made everyone around them notice all of their worst qualities unless they actively changed and worked at being a better person. Which made it a fitting punishment – it was their own selves that pushed people away and their own selves that brought them back. “Oh, here, by the way, you might want this! It will make you forget where the hedge maze is so that you can’t get lost in it again.”

She handed him a sutra of forgetfulness that would do rather more than that. It would completely make him forget anything and everything about her, as a measure of protection from vengeful Runners who managed to find her again the first month or so she had been doing this. Six and a half months in now, she was a complete veteran. Smiling, she placed the sutra on his chest and led him away. Out of the hedge maze, across and through the Fiery Forest – avoiding the local residents this time around just to keep him from being suspicious – through the Green Meadow, and into the Swamplands – a very murky and damp forest that led straight to the Bog… right… _here!_ She pushed him over the ledge and watched as he fell into the BoES, his eyes glazing over and the sutra eventually disintegrating. Daichi and Kuro would help him out of the place and into wherever the Labyrinth wished for him to go next so her job was done.

Kagome smiled vindictively before skipping the entire way back to her comfortable shrine, opening her special door, and shutting it firmly behind her, divesting herself of the miko outfit that she wore for Labyrinth work – especially as it was grimy through her trek through the Swamplands, although her ki usage kept the floors and walls of her shrine pristine aside from the occasional need to sweep and dust. Then she went into her bathroom and sank into the in-ground bathtub with a content moan. Somehow it was _always_ exactly the right temperature for what she needed from her day, and she sighed as intense heat seared her skin and relaxed her muscles. Cerulean eyes, filled with satisfaction at a good day’s work, closed as she relaxed into the water, before leisurely soaping herself up, shampooing her hair, and rinsing off. Then she wrapped a towel around her body and used her ki to squeeze out all the moisture from her hair.

After towelling herself off, she dressed in an elegant forest green kimono with patterns of a soft cream cherry blossom petals. She flushed at the sight; even after Sesshōmaru had made his intentions clear to her a month ago, she still wasn’t used to being thought so highly of and was worried about being a good Queen… but she had time. Both to fall in love for real – right now she was crushing; severely, but still just crushing – and to learn everything she needed to learn. Apparently he had given her a head start because the most important thing was dealing with Runners and the wished-away and she had been doing that for half a year now.

Sighing, she finished dressing with a cerulean obi that matched her eyes and a comfortable pair of sandals. Then she went to the end of the hall and knocked on Sesshōmaru’s door, smiling when it opened to the dining room, as expected. Servants were placing dishes around the table for a late dinner – the rest of the court that didn’t work so hard because they weren’t interacting with the Runners ate earlier and the same time every day. Kagome, Sōta, and Sesshōmaru ate when they had the time to, breakfast being the only exception and always eaten in the kitchen with the servants because Kagome refused to be the type of person who disrespected those that made her life so much easier to cope with.

Unbeknownst to her, it was simply making all of her potential future subjects adore her even more.

Everybody was in agreement that the five hundred year wait was well worth it when the quality of their future Lady was so perfectly aligned with them.


	7. Chapter 7

“Eeeek! No!”

Kagome squealed as Sesshōmaru caught up to her in their chase through the Labyrinth and wrapped his arms around her, tickling her sides mercilessly until she was gasping for breath between her squealing laughter and said, “I give, I give! You win!”

Sesshōmaru chuckled darkly, spinning her around to face him, his gorgeous golden eyes _burning_ with pleasure, delight, happiness, and excitement. He had clearly enjoyed their game of tag as much as she had. Blushing softly, she said, “Well… I promised you a reward… What will it be?”

Cupping her face softly in his hands, Sesshōmaru whispered, ever so soft, ever so gentle, ever so sweet, pleading with her as he asked, “May I kiss you, Kagome koishi?”

Kagome inhaled sharply, her eyes widening at the request. Sesshōmaru was taking things exquisitely slow between them as he courted her – taking her on picnics, exploring the Goblin Realm, showing off the innate natural beauty of the place that was now her home. Throughout all of this there had been hand-holding, hugs, linked arms, leaning against each other, and – from Sesshōmaru to Kagome – the occasional kiss on the forehead or – from Kagome to Sesshōmaru – the occasional kiss on the cheek.

However… despite being nervous about her first kiss and _what if she was bad_ and _what if she wasn’t ready_ … Kagome was also excited. So, glancing shyly up at him through her lashes, she softly did one better than tell him okay. Instead she wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered back, “ _Please_ , Sesshōmaru!”

Seeing those glorious golden eyes widen in shock, darken in delight, and glow with hunger was everything she could have wanted, and Kagome took in a slow, deep breath as he moved his lips closer to hers and then kissed her – and _oh,_ it was _perfection_! Kagome knew all of their kisses would not be like this, but her lips – although the clash of their different forms of ki stung and tingled slightly – were being pressed against ever so gently, and his own lips were hot and soft and gently guiding her into learning how to kiss and be kissed.

By the time they broke away to get their breath, Kagome was already addicted and pulled him closer to her with a breathy moan of, “Oh, Kami, Sess, _again_!”

He seemed amused at the diminutive that a baby Sōta had given him being used once again but it was a pleased amusement – she could barely even _talk_ she wanted him so badly, so he had clearly been doing _something_ right.

He sat down on the ground, taking her with him and seating her in his lap in a comfortable position, before leaning in and kissing her once more, this time a little bit more persistently, a little bit more guiding; still gentle and sweet but also gearing up – preparing her for the day and/or time when his kisses would be just as filled with passion as they were currently filled with a soft love that most people would _never_ suspect the Goblin King of being capable of.

Kagome completely lost time of how long they were sat in the hedge maze, hidden away in a secret place and kissing for longer than she cared to know about for surely it would _completely_ embarrass her to know that she had spent hours making out with her beloved… Oh. Oh and he _did_ deserve to know that, now that she had realised it.

So, ever so softly, she stroked the stripes on his cheeks – which _wow_ that must be a sensitive spot because look at how his eyes were _burning_ from that – and then leaned up to instigate her own kiss, lips sweetly pressing against his and moving against his, her blunt teeth scraping his lower lip as she sucked on it and pulled away before smiling with all the love she had and softly stating, “I just realised that I’m in love with you, Sesshōmaru. I don’t think it’s deep enough yet, but it’s definitely being in love, rather than just loving you.”

His smile was beautiful and tender as he pressed his forehead against hers and combed his fingers through her hair in a grooming gesture that she had long gotten used to – not just with Sesshōmaru, but with Sōta, who being inu yōkai, needed that kind of contact from her, being his mother. “I have loved you for so long, precious. Thank you for giving me a chance, koishi. You…”

She moved to rub her cheek against his and said, “Don’t make yourself say it, Sesshōmaru. I know. I can feel, remember? I knew almost from the moment I met you that you were desperately isolated and alone. I wanted to fix that any way I could. I am more than happy that I can help in this way.”

His breath hitched and she murred softly, climbing out of his lap and pulling him so that his head was in her lap and her fingers were combing through that gloriously long, sinfully soft silver hair of his. He needed to regain his composure because she knew he had an important meeting tonight – unless a Runner came up which they hardly ever did on Tuesdays – and even though she might or might not be required to attend (it depended on if her telling him she loved him made her his Consort now; ideally he would simply be her suitor until they mated, at which point she would become his Queen, but the rules of the Fae and the yōkai were not even close to always ideal) Sesshōmaru would be expected to be calm, aloof, and dangerous tonight.

He _was_ the Killing Perfection, after all, and could not reign over the rest of the yōkai with only gentleness. Yōkai were often violent, bloodthirsty, and filled with killing intent. It was in part why the Underground was filled with so many forests overflowing with prey. That way they could sate their innate bloodlust and not have to worry about hurting the ningen living amongst them in peace.

Weirdly enough, that reminded her… “Hehehe, I owe Kirara some fresh fish. She told me that I would know when I loved you suddenly and without warning, and that it would happen before the year was out, and we still have four months left. She was right.”

Sesshōmaru chuckled and turned to look up at her, smiling softly. “Kirara usually is; she is very wise. We’ll go fishing for her tomorrow before the first Runner arrives. Thank you, precious. Shall we head in? I’m afraid that you will be required to attend the meeting – and please, do not hold back your temper or your abilities; if someone insults you or insinuates anything, please defend yourself any way you feel necessary. They will deserve it.”

Kagome nodded. “Understood, Sesshōmaru. Yes, let’s head inside.”

The Lady of the Labyrinth was now the Consort – and without a doubt, would soon be the Queen. She knew that the denizens of the Labyrinth and the Underground in general would be rejoicing at this fact. She looked forward to her new life, and was ever so grateful that as a child, she had selfishly wished her little brother away, because now she had a wonderful son, a perfect love, an amazing job, and a gorgeous home.


End file.
